'Gym rat' Fernando Mendoza is right pick for Raiders – if team is patient | Opinion
Raiders' Mark Davis wants a franchise QB without risk of his star getting "the crap beat out of him." Enter Kirk Cousins and the Fernando Mendoza plan.
With the countdown ticking for Fernando Mendoza to christen the NFL Draft – and likely a new era for the Las Vegas Raiders as the No. 1 pick overall – somebody just had roll back the clock with Troy Aikman. A generation ago, in 1989, Aikman was that hotshot quarterback at the top of the draft.
And it sure worked out. He led the Dallas Cowboys to three Super Bowl titles and has a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But man, that NFL initiation was rough.
Now it provides keen insight into the challenge ahead for Mendoza, who won the Heisman Trophy and a national championship at Indiana, but is poised to start his NFL journey with a franchise that for years has been stuck in mediocrity. “It just takes some time,” Aikman told USA TODAY Sports, walking and talking during the recent NFL owners meetings. “I think him understanding that and being patient with it all is going to be key for him.
” Patience. Sounds like a plan. Until, as Mike Tyson once declared, you get hit in the mouth.
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